Basketball is a dirty business. Nothing surprising here.

 

College sports is a dirty business but I really hope it's improved from the past.

It was no secret UC was cheating back then, and doing so in large part because if you weren't you had no chance to compete at the highest level. Boosters weren't monitored much, if at all, and the NCAA was more than willing to look the other way until the SMU football program imploded and exposed what was really going on.

 

While a lot of filth still hovers around certain coaches and programs willing to go the extra mile to cover it up, it is NOTHING CLOSE to how rampant the cheating was in the 70s and 80s. I know big money folks at UC, UK, UL and OSU that "made it rain" in the recruiting world back then will little to no chance at detection. I've heard plenty of stories that make this one seem like chump change from the actual sources of funding.

 

Does it still go on? No question. I know a kid on the transfer market last year that was flat out asking for 20K up front and 3K a month in untraceable prepaid credit cards to cover what he was already getting from the school he left. You have to be a lot more sneaky these days, and the chances of getting caught are a lot higher. Doesn't stop some from having a silent booster pump a nice chunk of change into a non profit AAU programs coffers, but it isn't like filling up a nice new home a few miles from campus with all the amenities like the old days...

Confucius say "man who talk, know nothing."

 

Kobe Bryant says "Man who brag about knowledge should put up, or keep to self."

It was no secret UC was cheating back then, and doing so in large part because if you weren't you had no chance to compete at the highest level. Boosters weren't monitored much, if at all, and the NCAA was more than willing to look the other way until the SMU football program imploded and exposed what was really going on.

 

While a lot of filth still hovers around certain coaches and programs willing to go the extra mile to cover it up, it is NOTHING CLOSE to how rampant the cheating was in the 70s and 80s. I know big money folks at UC, UK, UL and OSU that "made it rain" in the recruiting world back then will little to no chance at detection. I've heard plenty of stories that make this one seem like chump change from the actual sources of funding.

 

Does it still go on? No question. I know a kid on the transfer market last year that was flat out asking for 20K up front and 3K a month in untraceable prepaid credit cards to cover what he was already getting from the school he left. You have to be a lot more sneaky these days, and the chances of getting caught are a lot higher. Doesn't stop some from having a silent booster pump a nice chunk of change into a non profit AAU programs coffers, but it isn't like filling up a nice new home a few miles from campus with all the amenities like the old days...

 

Isn't that a felony offense by federal tax laws? You know about this for a fact?

Isn't that a felony offense by federal tax laws? You know about this for a fact?

 

I know for a fact the kid told a high major staff on his official visit that it would take those terms to land him. They told him best of luck finding a new school and sent him on his way. It is what it is...

Kobe Bryant says "Man who brag about knowledge should put up, or keep to self."

 

I'm not sure why you took it that way, but I wasn't bragging about anything. I was stating a fact. A big portion of my life for the last 6 years has been high school and college basketball and I've seen and heard a lot.

I was shocked that they flunked them on purpose. Talk about low and dirty.

I was shocked that they flunked them on purpose. Talk about low and dirty.

Agree. The rest of it I share the same sentiments as PP92.

Did I say every coach has guys who do these things? I promise you that I know for a fact that basketball is a dirty, dirty business. If I told half of what I have seen and heard with my own eyes and ears...

...just waiting on the book my man!

Agree. The rest of it I share the same sentiments as PP92.

 

Agreed that was the dirtiest part.

What a great read. I first got interested in college hoops with the UC teams of that era. I remember listening to their games (Gary Yoder, Steve Collier, Mike Jones, Brian Williams, Big Bob Miller and then Pat Cummings). Great memories of the Bearcats back in the 70's. To read about what was going on with Miller and Collier is interesting. Gale Catlett always seemed like a used car salesman to me and I thought less of Ed Badger. None of this really shocks me but the stuff about actually giving kids WORSE grades than they earned bothers me. That is evil.

I also remember my college baseball coach (Jim Connor) talking about NBA players who had to take a pay cut from what they got in college back then...there may have been some truth to that:lol2: